Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan on Wednesday morning called for the government to annex all West Bank settlements.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Erdan called for the "immediate annexation of the Jewish population" in the West Bank in response to the Palestinian Authority's attempt to upgrade its status at the United Nations.

When asked if he was concerned that annexing the settlements would anger the United States, Erdan responded that as long as the PA was going against American wishes at the UN, Israel should not sit idly by without acting. "We don't always see eye-to-eye with the US," he said.

But when it
came to talking about obstacles to the peace process, the European and Arab
ministers blamed only the West Bank settlements and Israel’s security
barrier.

Palestinians had hoped the Cairo Declaration on the Middle East,
which the European Union and the Arab League released after the meeting, would
endorse their November 29 bid before the General Assembly to upgrade their UN
status to that of a non-member state.

Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas said in Cairo that Arab League ministers had pledged to support
the UN bid. He added that Egypt was lobbying other countries to stand behind the
Palestinians.

Abbas spoke during a joint press conference with Egyptian
Foreign Minister Mohamed Amru. While in Cairo, he also met with Egyptian
President Mohamed Morsi to discuss the matter.

The Palestinians already
have the majority necessary to pass their resolution in the General Assembly,
which would be viewed as de facto recognition of statehood. But they want to
secure the support of Europe, which remains divided on the
subject.

Israel believes that at least six EU nations will stand with the
Palestinians: Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. Separately
China, which often supports the Palestinians at the UN, said Tuesday it would do
so in this case as well.

In the Cairo Declaration, the EU and Arab League
ministers called for the “removal of all obstacles that prevent an immediate
resumption of negotiations between the parties as well as the resolution of all
issues related [to] achieving a solution of two states living side-by-side in
peace and security.”

But the portion addressing the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict spoke only of Israeli actions as obstacles to peace.

“The
ministers stressed their common position that Israeli settlements and the
separation barrier built anywhere in the occupied Palestinian territory are
illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace,” the
declaration stated.

Israel has blamed the failed peace process on the
Palestinians’ refusal to negotiate directly. It has argued that by turning
unilaterally to the UN, the Palestinians are seeking to circumvent negotiations
and separate statehood from the peace process, a move Jerusalem believes would
endanger the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution.

At the Cairo
press conference, Abbas said, “Our hearts are open to the Americans and
Israelis.”

He added that he had assured both countries, which oppose the
bid, that “when we obtain the status of non-member in the UN, we would be
prepared to discuss the peace negotiations, to talk about six or seven core
issues.”

He also claimed that Hamas supported his UN efforts, and
reiterated his commitment to the right of return for Palestinian refugees to
their former homes inside Israel on the basis of UN Resolution
194.

Israeli settlement building is a unilateral act that violates
agreements signed with the PLO, Abbas added.

“Why is going to the UN a
unilateral act, when there are more than 500,000 Israelis in the West Bank (and
east Jerusalem) in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention?” he
asked.